Dean Potter highlining at Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park. Photography Mikey Schaefer.
Fear doesn't rule me. I don't suppress or ignore fear. The way I handle fear is by being afraid.
Because we regard fear as something we have to deal with, we don't just let it be so it becomes empowered to stop us. The appropriate way to deal with fear is to be with it, to choose to experience it, and to be afraid. As soon as your mind wanders, that’s when you introduce fear. It’s as simple as tuning back into the now.
You let fear be and it lets you be.
"Many people think I don’t feel fear, but I do. Fear is worthwhile
because it pushes me into these higher states of consciousness where I
perceive more. It makes me more awake, and I can stay calm. This switch
into mental states that I normally can’t access allows me to do scary
things." - Dean Potter
